Jotun Snowflakes: Continued
by OfTheOcean
Summary: When a trip to Jotenheim goes terribly wrong and the full truth of his existence revealed, Loki is flung into a world of frost giants, sorcerers and worse, with only his wits to keep him alive. Meanwhile, Thor searches the realms for his brother, while encountering a great evil he has never fought before. As time runs out, can he get to Loki? Or will darkness overcome them both?
1. Chapter 1

_ ATTENTION! Hello, all you awesome me, lovely readers of this story. This story is a continuation of Jotun Snowflakes by I'vebeenLOKI'Dyetagain. Here is the link to the first part of the story._  
_ /s/9551640/1/Jotun-Snowflakes._

_I hope you enjoy that. Unfortunately, as this story continues directly after that one ends, you will have to read that one to understand this one. However, it isn't very long and the writing is awesomeness.  
Yours,  
__Amaryllis._

* * *

By the time Helblindi and Loki get back to the castle, the blizzard is in full force. For Helblindi, it's more of a nuisance than anything else, but Loki's weakened body is finding it hard to push on through the wind.

"Loki, are you sure you're okay?" asks Helblindi worriedly, her crimson eyes looking, just for a second, like Thor's. Loki nods and flashes a smile that he hopes will reassure her. She doesn't look convinced, but chooses not to pursue the subject, her brow crumpled into a frown. They don't speak again until after they have entered the castle, out of the biting wind. By the time they get to the throne room where Laufey is, Loki has gained enough control over his motion to walk as if nothing has happened.

Helblindi knocks quietly, her eyes focused on the door and Laufey's voice calls out to come in. She pushes open the door and Loki follows her into the throne room. Laufey glances at her briefly but then his eyes slide straight over to Loki, scrutinising him. Loki feels like Laufey's eyes are drilling a hole into his soul and drinking out all his secrets, but he remains impassive, not showing how uncomfortable Laufey is making him. Seconds later, Laufey looks back and Helblindi and asks her: "What is wrong?"

"Father, we saw an eagle while we were out, but it wasn't an eagle, father, it was a person shapeshifted into an eagle and Loki thinks that it is Thiessi." She explained almost eagerly, her hands clenched into fists. The change in Laufey is almost immediate; his body stiffens and his face stiffens and becomes more severe.

"Children," he begins, "Thiessi is dead. The eagle you saw is nothing more than an eagle." Loki sees the lie slide over Laufey's tongue easily, if Loki himself wasn't so experienced in lying and the ways of lies, he might have believed him. As it is, Helblindi takes the lie without objection, relief evident in her eyes. Yet there is a spark of puzzlement in it; if Laufey is speaking the truth, was Loki lying? But she has not time to puzzle it out, as Laufey tells her she is dismissed and turning away reluctantly, she leaves. Loki makes a move to follow her, but Laufey shakes his head, motioning for Loki to stay. He waits until Helblindi has shut the door and her footsteps have echoed down the hallway, when he turns back to Laufey, a question on his tongue. But Laufey gets there first.

"I am aware you know I was lying. The lie was not for you. Helblindi is young and I don't wish for her to be pulled into this business. I didn't want you to know of it either, but it appears that I cannot shield you from it. I can see the magic running through your veins, magic which was not there yesterday. Do you know what happened?" Loki almost, almost considers lying, not for any particular reason, habit taking over. But he shuts his mouth in time and looking up at Laufey, meeting his gaze, he begins. He tells Laufey, everything, starting from where they first saw the eagle to where the tower fell and a dam broke inside him, magic he never knew he had flooding through him. Laufey listens silently, concern evident on his features as Loki describes how he could feel the snow eagle was a person shapeshifted into a snow eagle. When Loki finally fell silent, his story done, he nods his head slowly, considering, then stands up, towering over Loki and heads to the door. As he passes Loki, he tells him to go to his chambers and rest and Loki, his magic chaotic inside him, sapping his strength as it begins to restore order to itself, agrees quietly and follows Laufey out the throne room, walking unhurriedly back to his chambers. But as he slips into his chambers and collapses on the bed he senses, with deadly certainty, that something terrible is going to happen.

* * *

It is very hot. Thor had expected cold and had dressed for it. He feels as if the unrelenting sun was slowly burning his skin to crisp and the mountains didn't seem to be getting any closer. He had long put away his heavy cloak, but the warm trousers and shirt he is dressed in are long saturated in sweat. The air was choked in dust and lies heavy in his lungs when he breathes in. But he has to plow on, the faster he passes this obstacle, the faster he would get to Loki.

It seems like an eternity until he finally lands halfway up a mountain. The temperature has changed rapidly from scorching hot to freezing cold and now he was grateful for the warm cloak crumpled up in his satchel. Pulling it on, his eyes sweep across the mountains, looking for any likely caves that could house a portal to Vanaheim. Seeing nothing, he sighs; he knew it wouldn't be that easy but a man can hope, right? Gripping his hammer tightly, Thor takes off to do some searching. Even he admits that his plan is flimsy and likely not to work, but it's his best chance. He will find Loki and bring him back, if it takes him a thousand years.

When he finally finds the portal, Thor feels like smacking himself over the head with his hammer. How could he have had difficulty finding that? It was right under his nose. There was even a travelling portal sign carved into the rock next to it. How could he not have found it?

"Hidden in plain sight…" Loki's voice runs through his head, so clearly that he jerks his head around, expecting to see Loki behind him, laughing at his incompetence. But there's nothing there, of course. Thor stares at a jutted out rock behind him and remembers, his heart weighing heavy in his chest with nostalgia at the happy memory.

_Loki and Thor are looking for morberries. They are big, round, bright red things and should be easy to find, but try as he might; Thor has only found a few. Loki, however, has found lots already, his basket filled to a brim, berries tumbling out whenever he moves. And that's only the ones he hasn't eaten. His tongue is dyed a bright red from the berries and his hands are nimbly catching any that falls out of his basket, them also quickly disappearing into his mouth. Thor despairs of ever finding any berries and walks off into the grove, sulkily._

_"Hidden in plain sight." Loki's voice makes him stop and turn, the smirk obvious within it. He looks questioningly at Loki, who just smirks wider and pops another berry into his mouth. Thor huffs and is about to turn around again when Loki speaks._

_"They're hidden in plain sight. The berries." He adds as Thor's brow wrinkles confusedly. In Thor's opinion, Loki should also be famous for not making any sense as well as being a good liar. Seeing Thor's expression, Loki's laughs and motioning for Thor to follow him, he heads into the grove and begins to show Thor where the berries are. Instead of hidden deep inside the bushes, as Thor expected, they are just dotted around just under the surface of the bush, under a leaf here, in the shadow of a twig there. Soon Thor has just as many berries in his basket as Loki has._

Thor shakes his head to clear away the memory and hoisting his bag over his shoulder, heads off into the cave. He walks on until the ground disappears beneath his feet and with a quiet rushing sound, he tumbles into the portal.


	2. Chapter 2

Loki is dreaming. How he knows this, he has no idea, but he just feels like he's dreaming. Which, in dreams, counts as dream logic.

He is standing in very thick fog, even the ground under him misty and disturbingly not entirely sold. He can only see a metre in front of him at most. He doesn't want to admit it, even to himself, but he's disconcerted and slightly scared. He has never had a dream quite like this before.

He opens his mouth to call out into the fog, but something stops him. Something warns him that calling out would be a very bad idea, in this dark, misty place where he doesn't know what might happen or what lurks in that fog. It's only a dream, he thinks to himself firmly, but it feels… different. There's tension in the air, such as the tension before a gigantic storm.

In his peripheral vision, there's something stirring in the mist. He freezes, though his body is screaming at him to run and keeps his head looking away from that section of the mist. If he doesn't look at it, maybe it will go away. It doesn't.

"Loki?" The voice is Frigga's. He turns, relieved. She is staring at him in a way that is not entirely friendly, her jaw tight and her eyes glimmering with… what is that? But somehow, Loki knows.

Hatred.

Odin appears next to her, slipping there like ghost, his one eye drilling into Loki will murderous intensity. Loki feels an urge to back away but ignores it, choosing to meet his adoptive parent's eyes with a steady look, his expression completely neutral.

He notices Thor and his friends appearing beside Odin but doesn't give them the satisfaction of glancing at them.

"Filthy Jotun bastard." Her voice cuts across the mist and enters his ears. For a second, he stares uncomprehendingly at her until what she said sinks in. Odin is next.

"All those years, you thought we loved you? How much more wrong could you have been?" He sneers at Loki, his face contorted in hatred. Loki finds himself shaking his head; this isn't real, this isn't Frigga or Odin, these are just dream demons come to haunt him.

"You lied to me. I thought you were my brother. I thought we were kin. But you are nothing more than a monster, a Jotun, left out on a rock to die. I wish you had." Thor snarls at him. Strangely, this comment hurts him the most. He never thought Thor… but what else would expect? Thor hated Jotuns, heck, he himself had hated Jotuns until he discovered that he was one of them.

Sif and The Warriors Three slowly start to circle him. He always thought that was a stupid name and had expressed his thoughts on this, but now he was beginning to regret it.

"Jotun."Sif, her sword drawn and pointing towards Loki.

"Beast. Monster. Abomination. Freak. You never fitted in, did you? And now you know why." Frigga spits at him. The others smile, murder in their eyes. They all begin to circle him, silent for a moment. Then they really give it their all.

"Filthy Jotun!" Sif screams as she dives at him, he jumps out the way only to have Fandral leaping at him, sword gleaming. He pulls out the way and takes off, running into the mist as he leaves them behind. But their taunts only grow louder until they are practically being screamed and Loki doesn't know what is him or what is them anymore.

He drops to his knees and they appear around him. He tries to move but he is paralyzed to stop anyone as Thor advances towards, him, dagger dripping with poison.

"Cruel irony, isn't it, Loki? To be killed by your own weapon." Frigga laughs. Thor stomps towards and raises the blade, fury in every contort of his face. Loki finds himself begging: Thor, please don't do this, but Thor pays no attention. The sword fall down and runs through Loki's middle and, with a gasp of pain, Loki wakes.

His frantic eyes scan the room, but there is nothing there. It was only a nightmare. Slumping back, he shivers and pulls the covers closer. He shuts his eyes and tries to find sleep, but sleep evades him. And he wonders, somewhere in the deepest recesses of his mind, if he is a monster.

* * *

Thor opens his eyes. He is lying on the ground, the tall grasses around him rustling softly and the blinding sun in his eyes. Moving his head so he can see, he pulls himself up and slips of the cloak, already hot from who knows how long he'd been lying there. He shoves it roughly into his bag and looks around. In the distance, he can see a village and hopes that's the one that Heimdall put his friends on.

He begins to walk towards the village, long grass tickling his sides. He always was a little ticklish, unlike Loki. He smiles as he indulges in a memory.

_Thor is standing by Loki's bed, whining for him to stop reading his picture book and come play. For Thor, playing generally means pretending to kill Frost Giants or some other great quest. Loki isn't in the mood for this, so he ignores him. Thor huffs angrily and his face grows red, about to scream. But then an idea hits upon him and he stops, a wide grin sliding onto his face. He slinks towards Loki and sits next to him, putting his arm around him. Loki glances at him warily for a second before turning back to his book. Thor grins and quick as a snake (or so he likes to think) pushes his hand against Loki's rib-cage and tickles him. Loki stays absolutely still, completely ignoring Thor, however hard or long he tickles. Thor turns away and sits there in a huff, his legs crossed. Until tiny fingers start to tickle his feet and he shrieks, nearly falling of the bed. Loki smirks at him and Thor roars, jumping up and playfully tussling with him, which Loki promptly stops by tickling Thor's ribs until he can hardly breathe from laughing. When he collapses, exhausted, Loki put his arms around him and he hugs his tiny baby brother back._

Thor stands there, a sudden wave of sadness flowing over him. He clenches his fists, as if to punch the sadness away, but then carries on, trying to distract himself. The sadness decreases, but a tiny part remains and Thor, once again, vows he will get his brother back, and this time, never let him go.

* * *

_Author's Note: Loki and Thor are 5 and 7 in the flashback._  
_And yes, I know I'm a horrible person for giving Loki that dream. I just felt like writing a sadder chapter. _  
_Thank you, everybody who's bothered to stick with me for this far. Your support is amazing and, though I'm trying not to force you, your reviews are helping me to have the moral to keep on writing. I love all you guys._


	3. Chapter 3

When Thor finally arrives at the village, he's half drenched in sweat from the unusually hot sun. Trudging into the village, he waves over the first person he sees and asks them for directions to the nearest tavern where his friends are sure to be, knowing Volstagg's stomach.

Thanking the passerby, he continues on his way, not noticing the curious stares of the villagers until he gets to the tavern, where the particularly intense stare of a young serving wench, barely in her twenties by the look of her, stops him. She has black eyes, so dark he can't see her pupils and a nest of dark twisting hair cascading down her back. Something about her makes him uneasy; she feels... unnatural, like she's imitating the Vanir form. But his thoughts are pushed to the back of his mind when Volstagg appears through the door and greets him joyfully. Sif follows a second later, with Fandral and Hogun.

"Took you long enough, didn't it?" She says pointedly, eyebrows raised at Thor. But he just grins easily and drapes his arm around her shoulder, promising the tale of all that happened since they were separated. And, walking together out of the village towards where the portal is believed to be situated, he explains how he came through the portal and woke up a while later, lying on the floor nine miles away from the village. As they walk, they go over the plan, finding any problems (of which there are many) and resolving them if it is possible. When they have been moving many hours, they eventually sit down for a bite to eat, much to Volstagg's joy.

After they have eaten, they sit in the sun and look at the map that they brought from the village. It is not very clear, strange lines, tracks and trails running all over it. Only Hogun truly understands it and so when they continue journeying, he is the one who directs them, using his usual short answers. They move for a day and half the night, before laying down to sleep. Sif remarks upon Thor's cheerfulness returning and Thor smiles at her, his heart light for once in a long time.

But once they settle down to sleep, the doubts start to creep in. Long after the others succumbed to the sweetly enticing grips of slumber, Thor lies awake, his worries an ache in his chest. What if they don't succeed in their quest? What if they can't find the portal? What if Laufey does not let Loki come home? What if... but Thor shakes that idea away. After all, why wouldn't Loki want to come home back to his family? It's an impossible idea, but somehow, it's the one that worries Thor the most. What happens if Loki doesn't want to come back?

* * *

"Loki, come on. We need to get there quickly, before the sun rises!" Helblindi pulls along a still half asleep Loki, taking him to some secret place of her's which she promises he will love. At that moment though, the only place Loki feels like he would love to go is back to his bed. Still, Helblindi is persistent and he follows her, occasionally grumbling almost incomprehensibly under his breath,which doesn't deter her in the slightest.

They walk straight out of the settlement, the blinking lights of it looking like frosty stars to Loki's sleep fuddled eyes and begin to climb a rocky slope of a hill just outside the settlement, which is covered in pit holes but also covered in ice. Loki always used to wonder why he could nimbly climb to the tallest places as a child while Thor and the others were left far behind, but seeing Helblindi nimbly pick her way up the slope, he realizes that frost giants must have to be good climbers, to survive climbing anything in these slippery conditions.

Helblindi is at the top long before he is and when he finally gets there and feels her grasp his hand and haul him up, he is breathless. He looks back over the slope and notices the village all the way down there, almost a mile under him. He feels strangely nauseous, seeing such a big thing reduced to something so small by a simple height.

Helblindi doesn't give him time or reflect as she grasps his hand and pulls him along, clambering along rocks and around giant icicles that would be sure to kill you if you fell on them until she stops by a curtain of dead plants, perfectly preserved by ice for eternity and pushing them aside, beckons him in.

They enter the place just as the first rays of sunlight hit the ice in front of them. It's amazing, gloriously shining like frozen fire. As the sun get's higher, the ice burns and flames with colour, pink, orange, red, purple, blue, dancing flickering light. It's the most beautiful thing Loki has ever seen and as he watches this wonderful spectacle, he knows he has found home.

When the sun has finally risen, the gorgeous show stops, reflecting nothing but an azure blue. Everything is lit up in blue; it's almost eerie the way the light feels, like coldness and darkness and loneliness, all things that Loki can understand. He shivers and turns back towards the entrance, not wanting to think about his old life and Helblindi follows him instinctively, almost as if she know not to speak at that moment. They continue on their way in silence and are almost at the slope when Helblindi utters a sharp cry, piercing through the air and startling Loki out of his trance.

He spins round, too late.

A giant bird grasps him tightly before he can even scream and takes off, carrying him far away. He can feel the talons biting into his skin and hot flow of blood (one thing that makes him different from the other Jotuns) trickling down from where the talons have made holes in his skin. He can see and hear Helblindi stumbling along on the ground, far away, screaming at the top of her lungs. He knows he should try ad escape, but he's so tired. Wouldn't it just be better to let everything go and just fall into oblivion? His eyes droop and as he starts to lose consciousness from the blood loss, he spies the bird peering at him with cold, blue eyes.

* * *

In a dark, abandoned cottage along the small village Thor and his friends had been to earlier, a young girl with eyes so black the pupils are invisible and twisting masses of hair stands over a mirror, staring intently into its surface. The mirror's surface is swirling,shades of periwinkle, azure and navy shifting in the surface of it. Setting it down gently, she smiles a twisted grimace and spreads her hands in the air. The darkness creeps along her fake veins and her fingers begin to crumble to black dust, flying hovering over the portal. The rest of her body soon follows, until she, no, it, is a shapeless mass a black dust, darker then ash. Once the gravity of a solid form is gone, it hits the portal of the mirror and gets sucked into it. The mirror's surface continues to move a second more before the colours leave it and it becomes an ordinary mirror, unaware of the chaos it has just unleashed.

* * *

_Whoop, whoop! The plot thickens! What on earth is happening? Don't ask me for spoilers though, because I'm just as much in the dark about it as you are. My muse is very secretive. Anyway, hope you enjoyed that and reviews are always welcome!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello, everybody, sorry it's been ages, but here it is finally! Enjoy!_

* * *

Thor awakens slowly.

It's raining, getting faster by the minute, nothing like the weather of yesterday. Thor groans and buries his head into the sleeping skin, getting increasingly more drenched. The others are already awake, hurrying to get everything out of the rain. After a few bleary moments, Thor vigorously rubs the sleep from his eyes and stands up, letting a cascade of water droplets run of him. He pulls his soaked hair away from his forehead and picks up his now sleeping skin, the water dribbling of its waterproof surface in tiny waterfalls.

Nobody had expected all this rain. It had been totally blue skied yesterday, even hotter than usual and the rain is a sudden, unexpected surprise. Not at all welcome, either. He turns to Sif, her clothes now starting to stick to her skin and her hair is spread flat over her head and face. She brushes away the hair and turns her attention to him.

"Yes?"  
"Are there any clothes that aren't wet?" Sif nods her confirmation, a strand of hair coming loose and falling against her cheek. Thor finds that very distracting, all of a sudden. He blinks owlishly and gives a little shake of his head, causing Sif to look at him, perplexed.

He is interrupted by Hogun, who taps his shoulder and tell him they need to move, or they risk getting everything water-soaked. Thor nods and picking up a bag and slinging it over his shoulder, begins to move. The others follow him.

It doesn't take long before they find another village. It seems deserted, the rain occupying it in puddles. But they assume that nobody wants to come out due to the rain and go and knock on the first door they see. Nobody answers. They knock again, nothing. Thor sighs and moves on to the next door and does the same. Again, nobody answers. Confused, he moves from one house to another until he turns a corner and walks into the town square.

He screams.

A huge pile of bodies sit at the centre of the town square. Women, men, children, all piled up unceremoniously. They all have grey tinges to their skin, their veins dyed black by something, some unholy, evil substance. Every one of their faces are screaming in fear, eyes wide open and completely black. Tying them together is a black rope like substance, which seems to slither and slide across the bodies.

They take off, running through the streets, and keep on running long after the have left the village. It isn't until they come across another village; which has people hurrying about despite the rain. They quickly enter and again knock on the first door they find. A middle aged woman opens it, her eyes tired and a baby, maybe two years old, in her arms. Once she sees them and their bedraggled state, her eyes widen in barely concealed surprise.

"My lady," begins Thor, "may we have the fortune of taking shelter with you, for we are warriors on a quest and have no place to stay." The woman smiles slightly and beckons them in.

"Just stay there a second; I'll go get you some towels." She says in a slightly raspy voice, worn from work. She disappears and comes back, a minute or two later, bearing a pile of towels. They each take one and wrap it around themselves, the towel immediately getting wet from the water covering them. She tuts slightly and takes them upstairs, to a room with a single bed and a dresses. She directs them to the bathroom and they each take turns to go inside, drying themselves off and washing off any mud before dressing and going downstairs, where they huddle round a fire.

The woman introduces herself as Elise. Her five children cluster round her legs, peering at the strangers with wide eyes, apart from the oldest, a girl around fifteen, who goes to fetch the food. It's delicious, a broth full of meat and warmth. It sends tendrils of heat right through Thor's body, warming him right to his toes.

"You must be exhausted. Rest now, and when my husband comes home, you can tell us about your adventure." She smiles at them and they smile back, before thoughts turn back to exactly what happens and they shudder in revulsion at the horrible thought. Elise sees this and points her finger towards the stairs. They reluctantly pull themselves up and all traipse up the stairs, her following behind. They are lucky, it seems. Elise's children are all girls, apart from the baby. She gives the spare room to the boys and tells Sif she can sleep in her girl's room, before going back downstairs and leaving them to it. They quickly arrange themselves, sleeping skins dry now, and quickly fall asleep, whispers of the terrible thing they had just seen still running through their minds.

* * *

Far away, in the village they left behind, a girl with black eyes and twisted hair looks at the pile of bodies, her handiwork, and smiles.

* * *

Loki wakes up in a cage. His shoulder burns and itches from where the talons pierced it and a thumping headache grinds through his temples.

He struggles into sitting position and takes a look at his surroundings. The cage is made of ice, a twisting mess that looks like somebody has taken a piece of string and tangled it so much that there is no possibility of it getting loose again. The cage is dark, the design of it barely letting in any sunlight, not that there is much anyway.

Loki presses his hands to his temples; his magic is dancing through his veins as it works to repair his body. Exhaustedly, he flops back, curling into a ball. He let's a single tear drop on the ground. It's not fair; why ca't he just live peacefully and be happy? It's like a curse, a curse designed to hurt him in every way possible, but not to kill him. He should be dead from blood loss, he thinks to himself, but he's not. He's alive. And right now, he wishes he wasn't.

Footsteps startle him from his position and he looks towards the sound.

A man steps out the shadows. He's a frost giant, but his eyes aren't red. They are a startling shade of blue which burns into Loki and makes his headache worse. The frost giant is dressed in a black robe, what would once have been expensive but now torn and dirty. He turns a malevolent blue eye to Loki and stares at him, a smile that promises something awful at the corners of his mouth. He does not introduce himself, but there is no need for that anyway. Loki already knows who this is.

It is Thiessi.

* * *

_Dun, dun, dun! Haha, I'm so evil! And now, I will leave you on this cliffhanger for god knows how long until I decide to write again. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and reviews feed my muse and make me update faster! _


	5. Chapter 5

Frigga is worried. No, worried would be an understatement. She is terrified.

Thor has been gone for more then three days now. That's not what terrifies her. What scares the the most is the fact she knows exactly where he is going. To the Frost Giants to rescue Loki. Her baby Loki, who she nurtured from a tiny babe. How dare they, the monsters, tearing away the most precious thing of her life, her child, her Loki. And now the situation was threatening to take her first born, the baby she held in her arms at night going away to fight monsters just to get his brother back. They shouldn't have to go through this. They are so young.

Thus Frigga thinks as she paces back and forth within the confines of her room, her heart swelling with anger and frustration, fear and pain beating through her veins. She had known that someday Loki would learn the truth, but she had never thought it would turn out like this. Not like this.

She is pulled from her thoughts by the door opening and Odin quietly stepping in. Over the past few days, he has begun to look more tired and drawn and Frigga knows that the Odinsleep is not far off. She knows she shouldn't give him more problems then he already has, but she just cannot forgive him. How could he think that he could use her child, her baby, as a bargaining chip!? When Loki first left, she had tried to understand, but she just could not comprehend how Odin could truly love Loki and then give him over to those monsters! As queen, Frigga knows that sacrifices must be made for the good of the realm, but she also knows that some sacrifice are too big. And this is one of them.

"Frigga-" Odin begins wearily. But she does not give him a chance to finish his sentence. She stalks past him straight out the room, leaving him standing there alone. When she is some way down the hall, she surreptitiously looks back to see him standing at the doorway, his shoulders slumped and pain in his face. And despite everything, Frigga begins to feel some kind of semblance of pity for her husband.

* * *

Thor awakes at dawn the next morning drenched in sweat. He had a dream about Loki. No, not Loki. A monster.

He had dreamed that he had finally found Loki, Loki the way he knew him, with eyes that changed from blue to green and vice versa and a sarcastic smile that had always made Thor feel like he had said something stupid. He begged Loki to come home, only for Loki to change into his Frost Giant form and plunge an ice knife into his belly. Then he was in a room surrounded by all his friends and family members, all stabbed to death. And Loki is standing there, grinning with black teeth. And he knows it's his turn.

Thor shakes his head, trying to get the memories of the dream away from him. He pulls off the blankets and walks into the washing chamber, quickly cleaning and dressing. Then he tiptoes downstairs, deciding he needed to get outdoors and get some fresh air before his friends woke up. It simply wouldn't do to continue his journey in the state of mind he is in. And so he leaves the house, not noticing one that the blanket is covered in a barely there sheen of black.

* * *

Loki wakes up in pain. He doesn't know how long it's been since he'd been stuck in this cage. All he knows is that he had woken up here, his shoulder covered in crusty blood and a headache the size of Helheim pounding on his temples. Which looks like it has decided to come back. He eases himself up, gasping as the pain in his shoulder flares and he moves his neck carefully around to look at it. He hurts all over, but he knows this is by far the most serious injury he has. If he wasn't in this cage, he would have healed it by now, but the cage seems to restrict his magic. He snorts weakly. Thiessi isn't stupid, unfortunately. He knows what Loki was capable of and is taking precautions.

Wincing, he very slowly sits up and blinking owlishly to get the sleep out of his eyes, takes another look at his surroundings. Something feels.. different. More dreamlike. He briefly wonders if he's still sleeping, then dismisses the thought. No dream could be cruel enough to leave him in here, even if it was a nightmare. It would at least give him some space to run away or a different place to be trapped in. He laughs bitterly; of course it would be just his luck to be trapped in a living nightmare.

He breathes in and the smell of the air hits him. It smells like ice and something metallic and a hint of... what is that? Of course. Fear. His fear. And indeed, the hairs on the back of his neck are standing up and he lets his eyes travel slowly to the entrance of the cave.

A girl stands there, but it isn't a girl. It's a monster. He can tell that it's meant to be in the semblance of a girl, with black, twisting hair. But it's so deformed it could be nothing but something evil. It's incredibly tall and impossibly thin, with black markings all over it's skin, long jagged claws on hooked fingers and eyes completely black. He can sense the magic on it; magic like nothing he's ever felt before, something dark and horrible, the memories of a brutal ritual and thousands of lives lost. To create this... creature.

She.. it... smiles at him with sharply pointed teeth, the tips of them covered in crusty... blood? He shrinks back in alarm, it grins harder and reaches towards him.

He screams.

His voice echoes all through the cave and it pauses for a moment, licks its lips with a pointed black tongue and continues to reach its long pale arm out towards him.

"I...likes... them... when... they scream." It whispers to him, forcing the words out through it's tiny, thin throat. It suddenly jabs out it's arm and snatches at him. Loki doges, landing on the floor on his hurt shoulder, which immediately starts bleeding again. Faint with pain and fear, he scrambles towards the back of the cage, hoping desperately that it can't get him and cursing his wound and his suppressed magic.

It snarls at him and as it begins to reach out again, it unexpectedly stumbles.

He sees in spin around and as it does, he catches a glimpse of his rescuer.

It's an Asgardian woman.

She has black hair, nearly as dark as his and eyes that look almost green in the shadow of the cave.

His eyes.

She screams out and throws a dagger at the monster, which hits it in the knee. This doesn't affect it, though, just irritates it and it pulls the dagger out and advances towards her.

But she's been given a little time, enough, in fact, to do what she needs to do. She begins to chant in a strange melodic language, almost singing the words and this seems to have an effect on the monster. It scream out and stumbles away; she keeps on chanting, louder and louder, and finally, with a drawn out moan, the creature disappears.

"Loki! Loki, stay awake, my love. Stay awake." But Loki can feel the blackness descending on the corners of his vision and he knows he can't obey the command he's been given, however much he wants answers.

"Loki!" But her voice seems distant now, and when the darkness envelopes him, he welcomes it.


	6. Chapter 6

Loki wakes slowly. He is first aware of the feel of something soft and warm wrapped around his body. Then he finally registers the soft, heady scent of... something spicy and strange evading his nostrils. It isn't a bad smell, though. Quite the opposite. It makes him feel.. safe and in a weird way, warm. Warm as he had not felt since... since Asgard, with it's roaring fires and burning mead. He hadn't like the mead, but the fires had always been his favorite part of the feasts that always accompanied a battle. He could stare for ages at the brightness of the flames, dancing like glittering snakes in a thousand colours, blue, orange, hints of green...

"Loki?" A soft voice murmurs, washing over him like a fresh, cold breeze. He blinks his eyes open and immediately shut them again, the light piercing his eyes. She doesn't speak again, however, just took something cool and wet (a cloth, most probably) and gently wipes his forehead and eyes.

It isn't long before Loki finally manages to open his eyes and look around. He is in some sort of cave, he knows that, but this one wasn't like the one he had been imprisoned in. This one has a small fire in the middle, keeping it dry and sending light flickering over the cave walls. It is quite pretty, really, he mused, as he slowly sat up. He remembers all too well the injury that had temporarily incapacitated him. Yet he is pleasantly surprised when he moves his shoulder slightly and finds no pain. There were bandages around the wound, wrapped securely but not too tightly, put on by an expert hand.

He moves his head gingerly and finally glances upon her, sitting in a corner where she had retreated when he had begun to open his eyes. By the flickering light of the fire, he can see her much better. He notices how much her features looked like his, which he had missed in the dark of the prison he had been in. Who was she? How could she look so much like him? She could be related... but to a Frost Giant? She didn't look as if she had any Frost Giant blood in her. It must be some sort of coincidence, he decides. How else could he look so much like her? By Helheim, his life just seemed to be getting more complicated by the second! And now he has a headache. He retreats back into the covers and watches her almost absentmindedly.

She must have felt his gaze, as she turns her head to look at him and he meets her eyes. They were slightly bluer then his, but not quite like Thor's sky blue orbs. Still, Loki doubted anybody could have eyes as blue as Thor. It seemed a trait that to only Thor had been bestowed. Even Mother- Frigga hadn't had eyes quite as blue as Thor's.

"Good evening, Loki. How are you feeling?" She asks him, startling him out of his revelry. He looks at her; she had come slightly closer, but seemed to be hesitating; as if to ask permission. He inclines his head slightly, she sees it, perceptive as she seemed to be, and settles down next to him.

"Oh, Great. Absolutely wonderful. I've been kidnapped from my original kidnappers, by a stranger who apparently lives in a cave. What could possibly be better?" Loki spits out, trying not to let his fear show, a sudden fear, blooming in his chest, not just because, as he'd so eloquently put it, he'd been kidnapped by a stranger who lived in a cave, but for so many reasons; he can barely count them all.

On seconds thoughts, it probably wouldn't be wise to irritate the woman, after he had seen the way she had thrown that dagger at the monster in the cave, he isn't quite sure she was entirely benevolent. And she knows magic... oh, by Ygdrassil... he's dead. He is going to die.

Loki contemplates death. It doesn't sound like an appealing option; he is pretty sure that after that trick he had played on Hela the one time he'd ever been to Helheim (And hopefully the last), she wouldn't exactly take kindly to him coming back for another thousand years... or ever. Still, how could he resist the temptation of that one trick... perfect... and the look on Hela's face when she sat down on her throne only to get stuck to it... he wondered how long it took to get rid of the black treacle from the throne.

He had, of course, only pranked her after Thor had procured the thing they had come for. Thor had thought it a trinket, a bracelet of some kind, but Loki could feel the potential power running through it. He knew immediately what it was;a _magi-beholderen_,an object that could contain enormous amounts of magic. They were used by people who had originally no magic of their own. These people would harvest the magic of others and use that for their own purposes, often nefarious; after all, how could anybody good take the magic of another person, tearing away their life force, their connection to Ygdrassil?

Only somebody with no conscience. Or somebody desperate.

Loki feels suddenly tired, his head swimming with thoughts; sparks of magic still run through his veins, healing him and sapping his energy. He lies his head down against soft fur and wishes he could turn thoughts off. But that seems to be a talent that even he has not gained. Especially him.

"Loki." It's not a question, this time, it's a command, and he sits up to look at her and immediately feels dizzy. He closes his eyes a brief second before staring defiantly at her, trying not to let any weakness show. It seems to amuse her; the corners of her mouth curl up in a smile and she reaches for a wooden goblet filled with water. He gulps it down, he has not had a drink in a while and the cool, clean water refreshes and revitalizes him, his headache disappearing.

"Since we are to be stuck with each other for quite some time, maybe it may be a good idea to get to know each other? After all, surely it would be a better idea not to remain strangers, after all I believe you rather loath the idea of staying with a stranger who apparently lives in a cave." She tell him, a small, kind smile on her lips. Nothing like his own, and yet familiar.

"Well, since you appear to already know my name, perhaps you'd better start?" Loki replies evenly. So she doesn't appear to be annoyed by his words earlier... good.

She laughs softly, like Frigga did when he says something funny, and taking the cup from him, refills it and hands it back to him.

"My name is Astrid and I... I am a friend of Frigga. A relative, one might say, but distantly related." Loki's brow furrows; that would explain why she wanted to save him from Thiessi. But the information still gives him many more questions. If she is a friend of Frigga, a relative, why has he never heard of her before? He, as a prince of Asgard, was entrusted with the duty of learning the names of every lord and lady of various realms; this is important for diplomacy. It should have been Thor's job, but Thor had never time for such 'boring' ventures, as he put it, and Loki did not argue, knowing it's pointlessness. Thor was always a pig headed fool.

"And you are of Vanaheim?" Granted a nod, he continues. "If you are related to Frigga, then you must be of royal blood. How is it a lady travels across vast distances, all alone? Even if you were in a disguise of sorts so you may travel relatively freely, surely you would have another person to keep you safe and give you company? Only the most reckless travel alone in places such as these, unless they have no other option..."

She's staring at him, sadness and a hint of... something wistful, pools in her eyes; and Loki finally sees it.

"You don't have any other option, do you?"

She shakes her head slowly and smiles, a soft, pained smile. It takes her a few more moments to speak.

"Once... long ago, when I was a girl, only a few years older than you, I made a terrible mistake in the eyes of my parents, in the lord and ladies of Vanaheim and Asgard... and in the eyes of the royals of Vanaheim. I was sentenced to death for my crimes; but the Queen of Asgard... Frigga... begged for my life. She is a powerful and influential force and she had support from the more even headed of the ladies and lords. And so I was given this supposed lesser sentence... to be banished, to wonder alone through the wilderness of the realms, not allowed to have help from anybody: the punishment for that is to be banished alongside me. Nobody is prepared to give up everything for a stranger, albeit a pitiable one. And my family... they disowned me. I am now nothing more than a stranger, a criminal, to them."

Loki's eyes widen in shock as he hears this. She was a powerful sorceress; he knows that from the display of magic in the cave; not to mention skilled with blade. But he has not expected her to be... a criminal. Once sentenced to death. There are only a few crimes that can be given the death sentence,murder... or treason.

"What... what did you do?" Loki voices, hardly the most eloquent response. But at the moment he has far too much to think about to form a more... tactful sentence.

She smiles again, that soft sad smile that seems to appear often on her.

"I fell in love with the wrong person. With the enemy."

Mysteriously cryptic, yet an answer, in some strange way. Of course that would make sense; not a criminal after all, just a person who let her feelings fall to the wrong person and was punished dearly and unfairly for it.

"An unfair punishment, for a crime so small." She laughs at that; her face lighting up. She is beautiful, not in the way Sif is, with her dark, lovely hair and ivory eyes: no, Astrid has a beauty that is refined features and kindness. Like Frigga, like Jord, though she is many years younger than them. The face of one who has been through much and yet has come out the other side stronger. And Loki can understand that; one of the very few people who can.

"Now, I see it was not, but then, I was shamed by what I had done. And in my shame, I did something I regretted for so many long years. I gave up the one thing I loved, more than jewels, more than my magic, my most precious possession. I only hope... I only hope that someday I maybe forgiven for that." She smiles warmly at him and he smiles back, strangely.

Loki has only known Astrid a few days at most, of which most of was spent unconscious, but with her, he finally feels something he has not felt in a very long time.

Acceptance.

* * *

When Thor finally gets to the old woman's cottage, he could weep in happiness. It has been a long journey, throughout many days. But that is not the problem; he cannot get the picture of all those dead villagers out of his head; and everywhere he goes, he feels a creeping sensation of being watched. He is very keen to leave here and not return for a good long while.

But if the cottage did not mean escape, Thor knows he would hate it even more than the rest of the journey. It smells of must and manure, with a faint metallic undertone; a smell that sends shivers up his spine, for no apparent reason. Loki used to smell a little like metal, mixed in with other things, like ice (Thor had always wondered how ice could have a smell, but apparently Loki managed it), but a good, wholesome metal, like the smell of a freshly made blade... a slight smell, but one Thor is familiar with. This place stinks; the metallic smell has been twisted into something dark and disgusting. Thor can barely stand to stay here, but he must go in. He must find his brother.

He knocks on the door, the other stand back slightly, scared (though they will not admit it) of what is inside.

The door opens.

A tiny, old woman stands at the door, small enough to be a dwarf woman but not nearly hairy enough. She is filthy; covered in black streaks all over her face and her clothes are patched so much Thor doesn't think there is anything left of the original material. She grins up at him in a toothless smile.

"I know why you're here. Come, come in, I have just what you need. I'm sorry about the mess, a little bit of an experiment gone wrong, you see." She chatters on in a croaky squeak of a voice, grinding on Thor's ears. He doesn't know why, but he feels immediate dislike for this women.

"Thank you." It is Sif that replies and as Thor shoots her a glance, she shrugs.

"Oh, a polite young lady, aren't you? And so pretty... in my day, I was every bit as lovely as you... but that's all gone now. I've tried magic after magic to regain some of that youthfulness, well, anything legal, of course, my lieges, but nothing seems to work very well.." Thor zones out, simply following her as she guides them through a maze of potions on shelves, bent, arthritic knees cracking at every step. He looked at the dozens of potions lining the walls... he was willing to bet there were quite a few in here that were not entirely legal... and some nobody else knew existed, by the extensive look of it all.

"And here we are!" Thor jerked his head up and stares at the thing she is pointing to. It doesn't seem like much, several small, pale stones. Thor immediately feels disappointment... the woman must be mad, how can a stone help a person travel from realm to realm? It seems an unlikely prospect.

"My magic beans! Jack and Jill went up the hill, no, that's wrong... no, Jack and Jill went up the beanstalk? No, that was just Jack. But anyway, here they are, the thing that will take you to the place you wish to go, my lieges!" Thor raises his eyebrows in confusion and opens his mouth to question, but she sticks one dirty, crooked finger to her lips and mouths 'patience' at him. Normally, Thor would not stand to be treated so disrespectfully by a peasant, but he needs her and she knows it. So he says nothing.

"These are...as I told you, but you didn't listen, naughty children... magic beans. All you need to do is take a single bean and throw it into a body of water, calling out the name of the place you wish to go, and these will open a portal and take you there." Thor suddenly understands; feeling foolish, he reaches out his hands for the beans, delving into his bag for the the money, but the woman slaps his hand away.

"Oh no, these beans are much more than just money. If you wish for one, you need to do something for me. When you are in Jotenheim, I need you to get me a special kind of flower, a large golden flower that only grows in the harshest wildernesses. Get me one of those and come back here; then you will be able t pay me. I will give you the bean t get to Jotenheim, but if you do not give me what I seek, then you will never succeed in your quest, I promise you that. Your precious Loki will be lost to you forever!" She giggles wildly and Thor clenches his fists in anger. How dare she say such things about Loki, that witch!

Sif grabs his shoulder and shakes her head quietly; now is not the time to pick a fight. Thor deflates, he knows that he must tolerate this woman in order to find Loki.

She shows her hand into the pot of beans ans delicately picks out one, holding it out for him to take. He gingerly pulls the bean from the clutching hands and holds it tight in his own; it is cool and hard against his skin.

"Also, I can smell money on you. Give it." Bewildered, Thor does as he's told and the woman, finally satisfied, leads them back out the shop and to the front door, out of which they are quickly dispatched, without another word.

It doesn't take them long to find a body of water; a long, thin lake, blue as it reflects the cloudless sky. Thor has held the bean in his hand the whole time; it is too precious to lose. Loosening his grip n it, he pulls back his arms and throws it into the lake. Nothing happens for a second and Thor wonders if they'd just been cheated out of all their money.. then bubbles begin to rise to the surface.

With second the lake is a thrashing, bubbling thing and as they watch, a large hole, a whirlpool appears. They watch it grimly, and then exchanging glances with each other, they reach a silent agreement. Three, two, one.. Thor counts down... and they jump into the water.

_Thor can't breath and the rushing in his ears are deafening and as he spins around and around, he wonders whether anybody will ever find his body, until he is to dizzy to think anymore, and just spins and spins and spins, for an endless time..._

And then it stops and he hits the hard, frozen ground.

He is up in a matter a seconds and his friends, once they have all gotten up, exchange wary glances which each other. But Thor only sees the gigantic icicles, the huge frozen rocks... it's completely silent and utterly unnerving. And incredibly cold.

They are finally in Jotenheim.

* * *

_The plot thickens like porridge left on a table too long! Thor and co are finally in Jotenheim... will they survive their own pride, or the cold? What secrets is Astrid hiding? Find out in the next, very very long awaited chapter!_

_Sorry for leaving this so long, but I got you a longer chapter to make up for that. I would love to hear your suggestions on everything... Astrid, the old woman, the dead villagers... and I apologize if Loki isn't bad-ass or snarky enough in this chapter. He will be... I promise._

_Reviewers get cookies! (Shakes cookie tin)._


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